Hard drive failure? HELP!

[brandon.vong]

Hey guys,

My name is Brandon and I've been a lurker for quite a few years now on the board. I have a BIG dilemma though, I was using my trusty ole' 12 inch PB when all of a sudden my screen disappeared and I got these vertical lines running up and down my screen. The screen was changing colors and it went white, I manually shut down my computer for I feared the worst. Did my hard drive fail? If so, is it still possible to retrieve my school work and what not on it? Thanks so much!!!

[iMpathetic]

Seems to be a dying mobo or video board. Your hard drive should be fine, so you can just mount it in an external case and get your data back!:D

[brandon.vong]

Thank you for the quick response! So how much would it probably cost to replace? What's the easiest way to transfer my data then?

[iMpathetic]

If you're handy with taking things apart, a hard drive is around $65. See http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136129 .

For an external enclosure, see this: http://store.pcpowerzone.com/sasb2usb20al.html
Only $12!
Hope this helps.

[Father Jack]

That's the way my old 12"iBook went .. :(
It turned out to be the logic board .. :eek::eek:

[yippy]

That is NOT a hard drive failure. There is nothing wrong with your hard drive. Most likely it is the cable from the video card to the display that is damaged.

To get data off while your computer is being repaired or to transfer data to a new computer you don't need anything but a Firewire cable. Restart the PowerBook holding down the 't' key. Connect it via Firewire to another computer and your PowerBooks hard drive will show up as an external drive on the other computer.

[lamina]

Welcome to the forums, Brandon.

As others have said, it is not a dead hard drive, but a dead logic board.

You may or may not be able to boot your PowerBook into target disk mode by holding down "T" on boot. If you aren't, your only option is to remove the drive and copy data off of it with an external enclosure.

A dead logic board on a 12" PowerBook is a pretty big deal, and it will likely be more cost-effective to simply sell it for parts and get a MacBook. They've hit Santa Rosa now, so you're very safe to upgrade to a sweet new MacBook that will blow your old PowerBook out of the water.You'll like the widescreen 13" too.

Just my $0.02.

[brandon.vong]

That is NOT a hard drive failure. There is nothing wrong with your hard drive. Most likely it is the cable from the video card to the display that is damaged.

To get data off while your computer is being repaired or to transfer data to a new computer you don't need anything but a Firewire cable. Restart the PowerBook holding down the 't' key. Connect it via Firewire to another computer and your PowerBooks hard drive will show up as an external drive on the other computer.

If I went to the Genius Bar, what would it cost (probably) to repair? I don't have Applecare.

[brandon.vong]

That's the way my old 12"iBook went .. :(
It turned out to be the logic board .. :eek::eek:

What did you do at that point? New MacBook? =)

[brandon.vong]

If you're handy with taking things apart, a hard drive is around $65. See http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136129 .

For an external enclosure, see this: http://store.pcpowerzone.com/sasb2usb20al.html
Only $12!
Hope this helps.

Thanks for the input. Do you or did you go UNC Chapel Hill?

[brandon.vong]

Welcome to the forums, Brandon.

As others have said, it is not a dead hard drive, but a dead logic board.

You may or may not be able to boot your PowerBook into target disk mode by holding down "T" on boot. If you aren't, your only option is to remove the drive and copy data off of it with an external enclosure.

A dead logic board on a 12" PowerBook is a pretty big deal, and it will likely be more cost-effective to simply sell it for parts and get a MacBook. They've hit Santa Rosa now, so you're very safe to upgrade to a sweet new MacBook that will blow your old PowerBook out of the water.You'll like the widescreen 13" too.

Just my $0.02.

Thanks for the welcome and input. I have been holding off on purchasing a new MacBook Pro till I saw something awesome to upgrade too! I guess I have an excuse now to purchase a new Apple. ^_^ I just love my 12 inch though ya know? I need something of comparable size so I'll see if I can hold off till January.

[iMpathetic]

Thanks for the input. Do you or did you go UNC Chapel Hill?

Maybe when I go off to college in 2011..
Oh BTW...
GO DUKE!!!!! :D